Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey opened on May 1, 1993, as one of the earliest clones of the original Bolliger & Mabillard inverted coaster that debuted at Six Flags Great America the year before. It replaced the park’s Lightnin’ Loops attraction and became part of a wave of Batman-themed installations Six Flags rolled out across its chain during the 1990s following a licensing deal with Time Warner.
Riders sit in trains with their feet dangling below the track, a sensation that was still novel to American parkgoers when B&M’s inverted design first arrived. Great Adventure’s version stands about 105 feet tall, reaches roughly 50 mph, and packs five inversions into a track just under 2,700 feet long, delivering an intense, compact ride that has remained a staple of the park’s lineup for over three decades.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson, New Jersey
- Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mabillard
- Opened: May 1, 1993
- Height: About 105 feet
- Top speed: About 50 mph
- Length: About 2,700 feet
- Inversions: 5 (two vertical loops, a zero-g roll, and two corkscrews)
The Ride Experience
Trains on Batman: The Ride use an inverted design, meaning riders’ legs hang free with no floor beneath them, restrained only by an over-the-shoulder harness. The layout packs two vertical loops, a zero-g roll, and two corkscrew elements into a tight, twisting footprint, so the pacing feels relentless from launch to brake run despite the ride’s modest overall length.
Because the trains are suspended below the track rather than riding on top of it, turns and inversions produce a distinct floating, off-balance sensation that set B&M’s inverted coasters apart from earlier looping designs when they debuted in the early 1990s.
Part of a Six Flags Franchise
Great Adventure’s installation was one of several nearly identical Batman: The Ride clones Six Flags built at parks across the country during the 1990s, a rollout tied to the studio’s Batman film franchise and Time Warner’s ownership of the Six Flags chain at the time. The design proved influential, helping establish the inverted coaster as a mainstay format still used by parks worldwide today.
The ride is themed around Gotham City iconography and sits in the park’s Movie Town section, tying it visually to Six Flags Great Adventure’s broader lineup of film-branded attractions.
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Batman: The Ride Photo Archive: July 2001
These are original ThrillZing photos of Batman: The Ride taken at Six Flags Great Adventure on July 16, 2001, restored and upscaled from the original camera files. They show the B&M inverted coaster in its all-black paint of the era: the Gotham City plaza and Batman logo, the lift and catwalk, the interlocking loops from the queue, and the track above the trees from across the park. All photos are free to reuse under a CC BY 4.0 license with credit to ThrillZing and a link to this page.
Build a working coaster on the kitchen table and learn why the first drop has to be the tallest. A good gift for young coaster fans.
Over 3,700 pieces, a real vertical loop and a working chain lift. Display it on a shelf in the coaster room.
Rub-on sunscreen that fits in a pocket — reapply in the queue without greasy hands on the lap bar.
Batman: The Ride FAQs
When did Batman: The Ride open at Six Flags Great Adventure?
It opened to the public on May 1, 1993, replacing the park’s former Lightnin’ Loops attraction.
Who manufactured Batman: The Ride?
It was built by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), the Swiss firm that pioneered the inverted coaster format.
How fast does Batman: The Ride go and how many inversions does it have?
The coaster reaches about 50 mph and includes five inversions: two vertical loops, a zero-g roll, and two corkscrews.
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Photo: Jeremy Thompson / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.